Sarah Palin interview derails when she's asked about her son's arrest

Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska on the "Today" show.@TODAYshow/Twitter/screenshot
Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska bristled during a Monday interview on NBC's "Today" show when she was pressed about her provocative comments about her son's arrest and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"You guys brought me here to talk about Iowa politics and the caucus tonight — not to talk about my kids," Palin said. "And that was a promise. But as things go in the world of media, you guys don't always keep your promises, evidently."

Track Palin, a veteran who is Palin's oldest child, was charged last month in a domestic-violence case "in which his girlfriend said he punched her in the head and threatened to fire a rifle, court and police documents said," according to The New York Times.

The 2008 vice-presidential candidate, who endorsed Trump in this year's race around the same her son's arrest became public, referred at the rally to the "elephant in the room" and what she said her family was going through "personally" before suggesting that PTSD was to blame. Some veterans criticized Palin for promoting a stereotype of the dangerous veteran.

"It's a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question if they're respected anymore. It starts from the top," Palin said at the rally. "The question, though, it comes from our own president, when they have to look at him and wonder, 'Do you know what we go through?'"

During her "Today" interview on Monday, Palin said she wasn't blaming President Barack Obama with her comments.

"What did I say that is offensive?" she said after host Matt Lauer asked whether she regretted what she said at the Trump rally.

"I don't regret any comment that I made because I didn't lay PTSD at the foot of the president," Palin added. "I did say, though — and suggested very adamantly — that there is much more that our commander-in-chief could do to prove that he respects our troops and let them do their job."

Palin further criticized the hosts for not having her exact quote.

"If you guys have a specific quote, it allows the media to be more credible," she said.

Lauer then told her that that his show had never promised to avoid asking about her son's arrest.

"In terms of credibility, I just want to make sure: There were no specific promises made about the content of the interview," Lauer said. "Only that this would be your first interview since you endorsed Donald Trump."

Palin replied:

Well, I was told that this interview is about the caucus tonight in Iowa. And right on, who will it be to put America back on the right track and restore constitutional government that we are lacking today and that we so need? And I said, 'Right on, let me go talk about that. Sure.'